ENGL 122NE: |
Cultural Representations
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U.S. Literature in the Era of Environmentalism |
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| Winter 2007 |
| Instructor: Stephanie LeMenager |
| Meets on: TR 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM GIRV 1115 |
| Prerequisites: Writing 2, 50, or 109; English 10; or upper-division standing |
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| Satisfies a GE area G and a Writing requirement |
| http://acc.english.ucsb.edu/courses/acc_overview.asp?CourseID=294 |
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Cultural Representations: Literature in the Era of Environmentalism
There is no single historical period or culture that created contemporary environmentalism, but in the United States the publication of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden in 1854 is often recognized as the beginning of a new, recognizably modern way of thinking about the relationship of humans to non-human Nature. In mid-nineteenth century North America, industrialization and heavy settlement of the West sparked awareness of a variety of environmental problems that are still with us, problems such as the loss of wilderness, the extinction of native species, the genocide of Native American peoples, and widespread pollution. This course traces the development of North American literature within what I am calling the era of environmentalism, the mid-19th to 21st centuries, looking at how literature responds to ecological problems and shapes environmental values. Course readings begin with Walden and include the writings of environmentalists such as John Muir and Rachel Carson as well as novelists like Don DeLillo, Louise Erdrich and Karen Tei Yamashita, whose work explores our perceptions of ecological issues such as toxicity and deforestation. Though literature is the primary focus of course discussion, there will be one lecture devoted to contemporary environmental art and two film screenings, including Werner Herzog’s (2005) Grizzly Man.
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